PowerON project receives funding to help green transit

Toronto - A Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) project to be implemented by PowerON Energy Solutions is receiving $3.05 million in funding from Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).

The project is aimed at supporting the province’s power grid while greening public transit. The funding will complement the first phase of a broader project under which PowerON will design, build, co-invest in and operate the charging and related infrastructure to support TTC electrification over the next 20 years.

As part of the overall project, PowerON will deploy battery energy storage systems and an artificial intelligence-driven charging management system to:

• manage peak demand on Ontario’s power system, and
• shift electricity consumption to lower-demand periods.

This innovative project will aim to deploy, for the first time in Canada, battery storage that is intended primarily for transit operations reliability, which may also be used to provide back-up power to the broader electricity system. It is expected to save money for both the TTC and for electricity ratepayers as the battery storage can be used to provide benefits to both systems, avoiding infrastructure duplication.

Quick Facts

• The IESO, along with TTC, the City of Toronto, Ontario Associate Minister of Transportation Stan Cho and PowerON announced the funding at an event this morning. Read more.
• By the mid-2030s, TTC will be one of the largest electricity consumers in Ontario, due to electrification of its bus fleet.
• This funding will be used for the first phase of electrification at the TTC’s Birchmount and Malvern facilities in Scarborough.
• PowerON is an electrification leader with the resources and expertise to provide charging infrastructure for all types of fleets.

Quotes

“PowerON is leveraging Ontario’s clean electricity system to help electrify transit systems,” said Keegan Tully, Managing Director of PowerON. “Electrification of transportation is crucial to meeting climate change goals, and this is a great example of how PowerON is leveraging our infrastructure and large project expertise to green transit.”

“There is so much potential for public transit systems to use electricity not just to reduce emissions, but also contribute back to the grid,” said Lesley Gallinger, President and CEO of the IESO. “As Ontario’s electricity demand is forecast to grow year over year, the IESO is looking at ways to tap into these local resources to help keep the local and provincial grid reliable and sustainable.”

“As we look to advance the electrification of all vehicles to meet our climate goals, these projects will help us make the TTC transit system more sustainable and efficient, and most importantly it will contribute to a cleaner, greener city,” said Toronto Mayor John Tory. “The only way forward in prioritizing climate action and reducing our carbon footprint is by working with all levels of government on projects such as these two new ones. Thank you to PowerON and the TTC for working together on this important work and for ensuring that Toronto remains a resilient city.”

"Transit electrification is a critical step toward meeting Toronto's climate targets. In partnership with PowerON and Toronto Hydro, the TTC is pursuing new and innovative approaches to advance our fleet electrification strategy while building resiliency and sustainability across our transit network,” said TTC Chair Jaye Robinson. “These new projects, funded by the IESO, leverage TTC assets and new technologies to reduce peak energy demand and capture excess energy, allowing the TTC to operate efficiently while also giving back to the power grid."

“We’re so pleased to be moving forward with our plans to electrify our fleet and operate a sustainable, environmentally-friendly and reliable transit service for our customers,” said TTC CEO Rick Leary. “This innovative expansion is the first of its kind in Canada and would not be possible without ongoing support from our government partners and our colleagues at PowerON and Toronto Hydro.”

About PowerON Energy Solutions

PowerON, a subsidiary of Ontario Power Generation, minimizes the risk of electrification of fleets, like the TTC’s buses, by taking on the construction and operation of charging infrastructure, greatly simplifying the process while allowing organizations like the TTC to focus on core operations. PowerON’s solution reduces cost and time to electrify while increasing charging reliability for fleets.

For further information, please contact:

PowerON
media@poweronenergy.ca

TTC Corporate Communications
416-981-1900
media@ttc.ca